Mark Selcow: Think Company First

Mark is a serial startup founder and operator who is now an investor at Costanoa Ventures focusing on SaaS, fintech, future of work, and marketplaces. Prior to joining Costanoa, Mark was an operator, co-founding and serving as President of two companies, BabyCenter (sold to Johnson and Johnson) and Merced Systems (sold to NICE Systems). At Costanoa, Mark helped several portfolio companies as an Advisor and Board Member, and even became Interim CEO of Quizlet, a leading consumer learning tool.

In this episode, we hear about Mark's experiences as a founder of two very different businesses - BabyCenter and Merced Systems. We also hear about how market conditions in the late '90s impacted the BabyCenter trajectory and how that experience has informed Mark's role as a board member and investor today.

Furthermore, we address topics such as ideal board composition, the role of industry experience, what its like to be an interim CEO, and how to think about exits as a founder.

If like Mark, you are interested in early stage business-oriented technologies and SaaS, fintech, and the future of work, you should absolutely follow him on Twitter @mselcow. For more information on his firm, follow @CostanoaVC or visit their website https://www.costanoavc.com/. For more podcasts on how to build better Boards, join us at www.boardsnetwork.com and follow us on Twitter @boardsnetwork.